"Welcome to my little humble abode!" Halmoni announced dramatically, though warmly welcoming Jintae and Kyunghee into the cozy, one-room apartment with doors wide opened.
The apartment was furnished with the basic set of furniture, but everything was colorful and flowery, filling up the place with life and positivity—an apt reflection of halmoni's personality. Kyunghee and Jintae exchanged a look with one another, amused and speechless. Admittedly, neither of them had been in a room so colorful. It was both quirky and heartwarming.
"Now, darling, the bad news is that I only have one room in this apartment. The good news is that my bed is big enough for both of us." Halmoni smiled, her eyes sparkling eagerly.
"Halmoni, I don't mind sleeping on the couch," Kyunghee said, looking at the pink and white corduroy plush couch with its heart shaped and sunflower cushions. The corners of her mouth tugged into a grin. She walked over to the couch and sat down. The moment she sat down, the couch bounced softly. "It's plenty comfortable."
"Don't be silly. Why sleep on the couch when there's a bed big enough for two?" Halmoni disagreed. "Come, darling. Come and test my bed instead. I just recently replaced my old mattress. This one is two weeks new. It's one of those fancy ones where it memorizes you or something. I forgot what the salesperson said, but the important thing is that I got it on a deal!"
Jintae arched an eyebrow. "Memory foam?"
"Oh," halmoni pursed her lips and shrugged. "I think that's the word. Let's go, Kyunghee. You should test it out. I promise you'll like the bed better than the couch." Halmoni grabbed Kyunghee's hand and pulled her toward the bedroom, excited to show her visitor the new toy she had purchased. Kyunghee was helpless against halmoni's insistence.
Halmoni's excitement couldn't be contained as she whisked Kyunghee from one room to another, showing her everything from the medicinal cabinet where the first-aid kit was kept, to the kitchen cabinets where the midnight snacks and instant noodles were packed, to the fully stocked fridge filled with fragrant fruits and healthy, vitamin-rich beverages. Halmoni's overwhelming hospitality indicated how happy she was to find a visitor in Kyunghee, and that at least for tonight, she didn't have to sleep alone. When they were done with the impromptu tour of halmoni's neat little apartment, halmoni was out of breath and her cheeks were even slightly flushed.
Exhaling out loud, halmoni sat down next to Jintae, who had somehow made himself comfortable on the pink plush couch instead of tailing around the house with the duo. He looked oddly out of place, sitting awkwardly on the much-too-feminine couch with his tall stature and muscular physique.
"My oh my," halmoni sighed breathlessly. "I haven't had that much fun in a while. It's been a long time since I've had an overnight visitor to show around." Halmoni leaned toward Jintae and easily rested up against him. He was a bit uncomfortable, but didn't push halmoni away either, allowing the old granny to cozy up against his arm.
Kyunghee placed a cup of warm water, that she had poured out from the kettle, down on the coffee table in front of halmoni. She figured halmoni was going to need something to quench her thirst and calm her nerves. Then she sat down on the solo armchair adjacent to the two-seater couch.
"Wow, Jintae, how much time do you spend at the gym?" halmoni suddenly said as she unabashedly squeezed Jintae's bicep. "This is what youth feels like, unlike this flabby old granny." She regrettably shook her head but didn't stop feeling up his muscle. "Kyunghee dear, do you want to have a feel?"
Jintae froze, his ears turning slightly pink. Kyunghee coughed at how blunt halmoni was, choking on her own saliva.
"No!" Kyunghee exclaimed, horrified by halmoni's suggestion.
"Why not, dear? It's very firm. Let her cop a feel, Jintae."
"Halmoni!" Kyunghee cried, feeling her cheeks flush at the sudden warm temperature as she avoided making eye contact with Jintae. Halmoni was definitely making things awkward and she didn't give a rat's ass about it either. "You're…you're making him uncomfortable, halmoni."
Halmoni stared at Kyunghee confusedly, then she turned toward Jintae who was looking a little uncomfortable. Realizing that she was overstepping the bounds, halmoni coolly laughed, gave his bicep another purposeful squeeze before retrieving her hand. "What is there to be embarrassed about? If my body was thirty years younger and felt half as good, I would be bragging to the whole town until they throw eggs at my windows."
Halmoni laughed heartily as she reached for the cup of water. After taking a long sip of water to moisten the throat, halmoni turned to Jintae jokingly, "Now that you've brought us safely home, are you planning to sleep on my couch tonight too, Detective?"
As if realizing he had stayed far longer than initially intended, Jintae shook his head. "I should get going, halmoni. It's getting late." His eyes shifted over to Kyunghee, who had her gaze down and was busy with her own thoughts. A thought crossed his mind as he contemplated. Then he steered his gaze back to halmoni and asked, "Halmoni, where's your phone?"
"My phone?" Halmoni felt around her clothes before reaching into the pocket of her sweater and pulled out an older Samsung phone. "What do you need my phone for?" she wondered but handed it over to Jintae anyway.
He opened her phone, which had no lock to it, and punched in his phone number. Dialing the number, he allowed the call to go through until he heard the ringing on his own phone before ending the call. He saved his number into halmoni's contact book and saved her number in his. When all that was done, he handed the phone back to halmoni.
"Halmoni, if you need anything, just call my number." His voice was stern, purposeful.
Halmoni arched an eyebrow as she retrieved her phone from him. Even though the detective was staring intently at her as he said those words, halmoni's instinct told her his words were actually meant for someone else to hear in such an unclear, roundabout manner. Hamoni glanced at Kyunghee, who was watching them with an expression that was neither here nor there. In fact, Kyunghee's lack of expression indicated she didn't think much of anything the detective said.
'Kids these days,' halmoni thought but she nodded her head. "Ok, detective. If anything happens to Kyunghee, I will let you know," she assured as she shoved the phone back into her pocket.
"No, I meant…" Jintae started but stopped instantly, sensing that it would be hopeless to argue with halmoni. Even though he didn't want to admit it himself, the old granny was a lot more acute of social cues than he gave her credit for. "Never mind. It's been a long night. Get some rest, halmoni," he said as he stood up from the couch, making his way toward the front door with Kyunghee in tow to see him out.
His steps slowed as he neared the door. He didn't leave right away. Jintae hesitated for a moment, but eventually spun around to face Kyunghee. "They'll do their best to find the suspect. You shouldn't go back to the apartment by yourself, at least not for now. And if you manage to think up of something, or someone, let us know. It'll help."
Kyunghee met Jintae's earnest gaze, but suddenly felt tired and hopeless. She doubted the police would get far; she doubted the police's best was really their best. Ever since she was a little girl, if it wasn't life's circumstances then it was her mother that had sowed distrust and prejudice toward the police into her beliefs.
"Alright," Kyunghee agreed because she didn't want to get started on that can of worms. Not to mention, she was tired and just wanted him to leave so she could get some shut-eye moment with halmoni.
"…If you need anything, tell halmoni to call me," he added in a softer voice, but didn't wait around for her answer. After relaying his message, Jintae turned around and walked away. Kyunghee watched his disappearing back around the hall before gently closing the front door.
She made her way over to the plush couch and sat down next to halmoni. Without thinking, she leaned her head against halmoni's shoulder and closed her eyes. She was tired, but halmoni's presence was surprisingly calming and steadfast.
"Well, why don't you look at that? It's already past midnight. Why don't you go wash up and go to bed, my dear? You must be sleepy. It's been a rough night for you." Halmoni reached over and patted Kyunghee's head lovingly. It was hard to explain the affinity she had toward this young woman. Was it because of her loneliness? Was it because she longed for familial comfort? Ever since her husband, the love of her life, passed away, Lim Mihwa had been by herself. She missed having someone depending on her. It felt nice to be relied on, to be someone else's support, to be needed. This young lady needed her right now.
Opening her eyes at the sound of halmoni's voice, Kyunghee stared into halmoni's concerned expression. She wanted to tell halmoni this could barely be considered "late" since there were nights where she had to work till five in the morning. However, the words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't say those things because it would mean disclosing to this sweet, compassionate, kind granny the type of business she was involved in, the type of person she was.
In that moment, looking into halmoni's caring eyes, Kyunghee felt a deep sense of shame.